Retail clinics

Retail clinics are medical clinics located in pharmacies and grocery and "big box" stores. Since they first opened in 2000, they now number nearly 1200. RAND Health conducted a study of the clinics focusing on three areas: 1. A profile of retail clinics (locations, services, and ownership); 2. Patient characteristics; and 3. Costs, quality, and preventive care delivery. Its key findings:

• Most (88 percent) U.S. retail clinics are located in major metropolitan areas, and one-third of the U.S. urban population can easily access a clinic.
• Retail clinics typically serve younger adult patients who do not have a regular health care provider.
• For a selected group of conditions, retail clinics deliver lower-cost care of equivalent quality compared with other settings.
• Approximately one in five visits to a primary care physician and one in ten visits to an emergency department are for a problem that can be treated at a retail clinic.

Health Care on Aisle 7: The Growing Phenomenon of Retail Clinics, pdf (7pp/160kB), html, June 14, 2010